Composer Astor Piazzolla interviewed by Charles Amirkhanian at the Exploratorium's Speaking of Music Series in San Francisco, May 11, 1989.

In this program, Astor Piazzolla reveals the history of tango, its derivation from the milonga, the development of the accordion-like bandoneon, and pivotal points in his own compositional career, importantly how he changed traditional tango to Nuevo Tango following his dismissal by teacher Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Piazzolla reveals the influences that jazz artists, such as Dizzie Gillespie and Gill Evans, had on his music. There are some examples of Piazzollas music on the first program: Tres minutos con la realidad from 1954 and Milonga loca from 1987. In the second program, a selection from his Bandoneon Concerto is heard and a collaboration with Gary Burton is presented. Throughout the program, questions and answers are both revealing and entertaining.

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